Became The Premier League’S Youngest Manager [EN]: Chapter 86

86. Start of the Summer Transfer Market

Helena looked puzzled at John Banaszkiewicz’s words.

“Initially?”

“Think about it. Since Kim was appointed as the official manager, all the players signed with significant funds have been from Salzburg.”

The people sitting around the conference room nodded.

“Karim Adeyemi for £14 million with a £1 million option, Nicolas Seiwald for £13 million with a £1.5 million option. Wout Weghorst is an exception, but anyway, by fully acquiring two players, a transfer fee of £27 million has been paid to RB Salzburg alone, with an option of £2.5 million.”

Mike Garrick and Jonathan Landris, who were listening to John Banaszkiewicz’s explanation from the side, also showed interest and listened attentively.

“I wondered if he was favoring Salzburg too much, so I watched Niki and Karim play closely. Anyway, being a director of the club means supporting the manager to do his job well, but it also means monitoring whether he is doing his job properly.”

“And then?”

When Helena asked, John Banaszkiewicz burst into laughter, as if he was dumbfounded.

“And then what… they were flying. If another club were to try to sign Niki from us now, how much would you ask for?”

Jonathan Landris, the technical director, pondered for a moment at the question directed at him before answering.

“At least £50 million in a lump sum? No, I would just reject any offer below that and only accept conversations above that.”

“What about Karim? He’s only 20 years old and recorded 7 goals and 4 assists in 31 games in his first season in the top league. It was obvious that he only finished adapting in the second half, and even in the first half, Kim deliberately restrained the attack to establish the team’s tactics.”

Although the externally highlighted goals or assists were not very high, he still recorded 7 goals and 4 assists and was in the top 20 in the entire Premier League for chances created per 90 minutes.

A performance that was hard to believe for a 20-year-old in his first season in a top league.

As if knowing what people were thinking, John Banaszkiewicz smiled and highlighted a comparison.

“Except for nationality, he is the same age, position, and has similar or the same level of records as Bukayo Saka, who Arsenal cherishes.”

“Probably starting at £60 million. It could go up significantly if there’s competition.”

Jonathan Landris replied with a look of great interest.

Nodding at his answer, John Banaszkiewicz said to Helena.

“Do you understand?”

“Not exactly…”

“When we send scouts to sign a player, they usually only watch for about 2-3 weeks. They only watch about 2-3 games. Of course, we may send them again to find out more details, but if we’re unlucky, we may not be able to watch a game at all during that period.”

Jonathan Landris, who oversees scouting and transfer systems, nodded in agreement.

“We use a lot of video analysis, but it’s difficult to select promising players or youth players because there is no such data. But Kim was a youth coach at Salzburg. For several years.”

“Ah…!”

Helena nodded with an expression that she was beginning to understand.

John Banaszkiewicz, confirming the expression of the club’s CEO, continued his explanation.

“He’s not just seeing them play in games. He knows everything about what they’re like in training every day, what they’re like when they’re resting, and how they manage themselves. Think about it. Who knows more about a promising player than the youth coach who was in charge of their development?”

“So what did John realize?”

John Banaszkiewicz replied to Helena’s question.

“Kim is making the best choice to reduce the risk of failure in his own way. There is bound to be a risk of failure in signing players anyway. But at least he is only signing players that he knows better than anyone else and thinks he can succeed with no matter what.”

John Banaszkiewicz concluded while looking around at the rest of the people who were listening to him.

“And it’s lucky for us that what he knows best happens to be RB Salzburg, which has one of the best youth development programs in Europe.”

“Is it right to understand it as only betting on hands that are sure to win?”

“That’s right.”

Helena crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair with an expression that she had realized a new perspective.

“Hyungmin would have been good at gambling.”

Mike Garrick, who had been listening carefully to the two people’s conversation, replied to Helena’s comment.

“All great managers have the qualities of a gambler. There’s a limit to predicting the opponent before the game starts and responding to it. If you don’t have the ability to grab the flow of change again in the ever-changing game and bring it to your side, you can’t survive in the Premier League.”

***

“…This concludes Burnley Football Club’s final report for this season.”

Helena looked at the two men who were listening intently to her report on the laptop screen.

Two men who looked the same, but one with a cold expression and the other with a playful expression, were her family and superiors, Ian Cartwright II and Ian Cartwright III.

Looking at the background of the screen, it seemed that her father was still in the office and her brother was at his home.

The head of the Cartwright Fund nodded as his daughter and trusted director’s report came to an end.

“It’s safe to say that the overall system at Burnley has stabilized a lot now.”

“There are still many shortcomings in the club’s administration, but I think Hyungmin and Jonathan can fully exercise their authority in matters related to games and players.”

“And it’s important that they are trustworthy people.”

Ian Cartwright III, her brother, joined the conversation between father and daughter.

When Helena nodded, Ian Cartwright III asked her with a warm and gentle smile that didn’t suit his handsome face, which resembled his father.

“But I heard something interesting…”

“What did you hear?”

*Whenever this guy smiles like that, I get a chill down my spine.*

The chief director of the Cartwright Fund, to his sister who was raising her guard to the fullest, gave an even more affable smile.

“I heard that you spent a fortune out of your own pocket to doll up Manager Kim this time?”

“That was an expenditure for official events. It was a matter related to the prestige of Burnley Football Club, and there was a very high possibility that he would win the Manager of the Year award that day.”

“A custom suit from Savile Row [a street in London famous for bespoke tailoring], a watch, shoes, and a tie?”

“…I just filled what a gentleman’s suit should have.”

Ignoring the cold sweat that was slowly starting to seep out from behind her back, Helena answered while managing her face as expressionlessly as possible.

“That’s right. It’s an expenditure for official events. But why did my sister pay for an expenditure for official events with her personal card?”

“Oh? Uh… the Burnley corporate card limit…”

“It’s not like he’s an unidentified person, and you could have issued an invoice and then contacted the club to make the payment, right?”

Ian Cartwright II maintained his usual cold face, but his eyes twinkled, indicating that he was listening to the conversation between his son and daughter with great interest.

*My brother has a look on his face that he’s excited because he’s caught something, and my dad has a look on his face that he’s curious about what his daughter, who’s been away in a foreign land, is up to.*

Helena, who had muttered to herself for the millionth time since graduating from college that you shouldn’t do business with family, decided to just flip the table.

“Third.”

“…Why?”

Ian Cartwright III, who was overwhelmed by the anxiety that the prey he had been cornering was about to escape, answered carefully without even getting annoyed at the title as usual.

“What you and John did in Mexico during your freshman year spring break, I have pictures of it, and if I show it to Eileen…”

“Hey! How do you have those pictures?!!!”

Helena gave a victorious smile at her brother’s face, which suddenly filled the screen with a scream somewhere between a shriek and a cry.

*Yeah, I knew he’d freak out if I said I’d show his wife those pictures.*

“I caught you with those pictures when I was dating John.”

“Ugh!!!”

A scream at the level that British football fans would make when their rival team scored a dramatic come-from-behind goal in added time of the second half echoed, and suddenly Ian Cartwright III’s microphone was muted.

“How much?”

“Oh, are you going to buy it?”

Ian Cartwright II nodded at his daughter without erasing his cold expression.

It’s not just because Ian Cartwright II is the legendary head of a Wall Street investment family or because he’s doing a good job of growing the family business that has been passed down for generations that he has so many friends around him.

Everyone is fascinated by the reversal charm that comes from the tremendous playfulness and witty sense of humor hidden behind that cold face.

Helena, smiling, started a deal with her father.

“£10 million.”

“Hmm… you wouldn’t be asking for it with personal funds, so put it in as support for Burnley?”

On the other side of the screen, Ian Cartwright III’s figure, who was making all sorts of fuss to restore the muted state, continued to be seen, but the father and daughter ignored him.

“Interest rate is 0 percent. 10-year maturity with lump-sum repayment at maturity.”

“£5 million.”

“No deal.”

“£7 million.”

“Dad, I’m leaving now. I have to send the pictures to Eileen.”

Ian Cartwright II clicked his tongue.

He’s good at negotiating on our side usually, but when he’s sitting across the negotiating table like this, his daughter’s excellent negotiating skills become a headache.

But it’s clear that his wife and Ian Cartwright III’s mother will be very happy if he shows them first.

Amidst the mutual recognition that he could not miss this good opportunity, Ian Cartwright II reluctantly acknowledged his disadvantage, putting aside the momentary regret over the Cartwright family’s education system, where all the know-how on all kinds of negotiations was passed down from before they could even walk properly.

“Okay. £10 million. I’ll send it tomorrow.”

“Deal! I love you, Dad~”

The Cartwright family’s confirmation is more certain than a notarized contract.

Helena, trusting the three generations of credit that has been passed down like a legend on Wall Street, immediately picked up her smartphone and sent a few photos that she had been hiding carefully.

Ian Cartwright II, who checked something outside the screen with the alarm ringing on his smartphone, gave a bright smile that even his children had rarely seen before, and then returned to his usual cold face.

“Your mother will really enjoy seeing this.”

“Right? Have a good time, you two~”

Helena, who succeeded in blocking her brother’s attack and burying the other side at the same time, waved goodbye to Ian Cartwright III, who was still screaming outside the muted state, and then left the online meeting.

Ian Cartwright II, who stared at the screen where his daughter had disappeared for a moment, turned his eyes to his son, who was still screaming in the muted state in the screen, and then turned his microphone back on.

“Father! So, that’s…!”

“Instead of not showing this to Eileen…”

“…Instead?”

Ian Cartwright III, who suddenly found a lifeline from the sky, widened his eyes and listened to his father’s words.

“…Explain exactly what Helena did.”

“Then you won’t show those pictures to Eileen?”

“Depending on how satisfactory your explanation is?”

Ian Cartwright II shook his head slightly while listening to his son’s detailed explanation, who swallowed dryly.

*I’ve explained to you many times that you should never leave the negotiating table first in a three-way negotiation, Helena.*

*You’re getting backstabbed like this because you don’t follow what your dad taught you.*